Green Jobs Restoring the Land would create nearly 37,000 new jobs targeted specifically to helping wild lands adapt and become more resilient in the face of global warming. The program will return significant economic benefits, especially in rural communities. David Moulton, the Wilderness Society’s Director of Climate Policy, was on hand to talk about the proposal to reporters today. “Human health depends on the health of our forests, parks, wildlife refuges and other public lands and open spaces,” he said. “In the spirit of FDR’s ‘tree planting army,’ we need a 21st century army dedicated to fighting the effects of global warming, helping natural systems adapt to climate change, and providing human communities with resilient native habitats for fish and wildlife, clean watersheds, and clean air. Through this new program, we can stimulate the economy while also protecting the wild places that sustain our human communities.”

The new program will put people to work restoring native forest, grassland and coastal wetland ecosystems; repairing damaged watersheds; protecting habitat for threatened and endangered fish and wildlife; removing invasive species, and replanting native tree species in urban and rural settings. Learn more about the proposal.